Two more indicted for Dwelling House fraud

April 12, 2011 3:15 PM

By Rich Lord Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Two more people were indicted today for defrauding the now-defunct Dwelling House Savings & Loan, bringing to four the total number charged with activities that contributed to the collapse of the Hill District lender.

Dimitri Manos, 24, of Coraopolis, is accused in an 11-count indictment of $1.04 million worth of fraudulent transactions involving transfers from his Dwelling House account to PayPal. Because of an accounting glitch at Dwelling House, transfers from accounts with insufficient funds were not rejected or reversed.

He is charged with bank fraud and money laundering.

Veronica Smith, 55, of Pittsburgh, is accused of using a similar method to take $213,286 from Dwelling House, and faces the same charges.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service and the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case, and Assistant United States Attorney Paul E. Hull is prosecuting.

Last week, Jammie E. Harris, 46, of Hazelwood, pleaded guilty to charges stemming from 272 fraudulent transfers from her Dwelling House account, totaling $1.1 million. Mr. Hull said she learned the technique from Elexa Manos-Becton, of Coraopolis, who was indicted in January, and has pleaded not guilty.